Sound Bite: Spatchcock

I know many of you are looking at that word and saying “what in the…?”…”Is that legal?” Trust me, it’s a real word. Many of you may know the actual action, but never knew it was called that. Spatchcock basically means to butterfly – in particularly when speaking about poultry. During the holidays we have so much going on and so much to do and cook! Wouldn’t you love to try something that will save you some time? Hopefully, you said yes! In order to spatchcock your bird, you will need to be working with a completely thawed bird – whether is it a turkey, chicken, or whatever. The first main step is to remove the backbone either using poultry shears or a sharp butcher knife. Once removed, clean out the cavity and lay the bird with the breast up. Next, apply pressure on each side on the bird over each breast to crack the bone. You are done at this point.

You can brine, season, marinate however you choose. I brined my bird for 24 hours and then used a compound herb butter I made under the skin and on top of the skin. When it is time to cook the bird, because you have a more even surface area, it will also cook more evenly. This works best on a bird 10-15 pounds in size and will only take about 90 minutes to cook completely. It will leave you with crispier skin and juicer meat in 1/2 the time!